ST. LOUIS, Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Coal-fueled
power plants operated by Dynegy Inc. and Southwestern Electric
Power Company, a unit of American Electric Power (AEP), were
honored for leadership in deploying advanced technologies that
deliver ultra-low emissions as part of Peabody Energy's inaugural
Advanced Energy for Life "Clean Coal Awards." Presented at the
Power-Gen International Awards Banquet in Orlando, Fla., the honors recognize the best
environmental performance achieved among U.S. coal power plants in
2013 based on key emission rates.
The award recipients include:
- Dynegy Inc. and its Coffeen Plant in Montgomery County, Ill., a 40-year-old
915 megawatt power plant, has the lowest sulfur dioxide emissions
rate among U.S. coal plants, which is 99 percent lower than the
U.S. coal plant average. Dynegy also uses low-sulfur Powder River
Basin coal.
- Southwestern Electric Power Company, a unit of AEP, which
operates the John W. Turk Jr. plant in Fulton, Ark., a 600 megawatt
ultra-supercritical power plant built in 2012. John W. Turk Jr. is
the most efficient coal plant in the U.S. The plant's heat rate was
16 percent better than the United
States coal fleet average this past year.
"America has a long track record of using more coal, more
cleanly to deliver a reliable supply of low-cost energy for
families and businesses," said Peabody Energy Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer Gregory H.
Boyce. "We applaud this year's honorees for their
leadership in advancing technologies to achieve our environmental
goals as we work to create greater awareness about the tremendous
environmental success story we can achieve with today's advanced
coal technologies."
Coal used for electricity in the
United States has increased 170 percent since 1970 as the
key emissions rate has been reduced by 90 percent on a per megawatt
hour basis. From 2005 to 2013, the U.S. coal fleet achieved a
9.4 percent annual decrease in the emissions rate, a greater
percentage on a per annum basis than recorded any time in the
previous 35 years.
The term "clean coal" was defined by the U.S. Congress nearly a
quarter century ago. Clean coal technologies include
high-efficiency supercritical and ultra-supercritical generation as
well as the collection of today's advanced coal technologies that
minimize sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates and
mercury.
Coal fuels more than 40 percent of U.S. electricity, more than
any other fuel. It is the world's fastest-growing major fuel
source, set to surpass oil as the world's largest global energy
source in coming years.
Globally one new 500 megawatt coal plant is being brought on
line every three days, and the majority of this power is being
developed as high-efficiency supercritical and ultra-supercritical
generation that delivers low emissions. As the world
continues to use more coal, broad deployment of supercritical
technology with advanced controls should be the global
standard.
The Advanced Energy for Life "Clean Coal" awards will be
expanded to include the global coal fleet in 2015. Click here
to read more about the award recipients and contact Jacob Williams,
Vice President of Peabody Energy Global Analytics for more
information on the awards and the selection process.
Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is the world's largest private-sector
coal company and a global leader in sustainable mining, energy
access and clean coal solutions. Visit AdvancedEnergyforLife.com
and PeabodyEnergy.com.
CONTACT:
Cabanne Howard
(314) 518-7225
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SOURCE Peabody Energy